Credit card Inactivity

[sarge12]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Good to know. My FICO is 712 and worried it will lower more. 

I do have couple Amex cards that I don't use. Is it recommended to charge a little amount just to keep them open? 

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There are anecdotes of Amex cards remaining open for many years without activity, but policies can always change. If you really want to keep a card open, use it.

You mentioned Barclays. They have sometimes closed accounts after as little as 6 months of inactivity. YMMV.

Keep in mind that while you might want to keep one old account open (or two, in case the first one closes), you don't need to keep absolutely every old account open to show you have a long history.

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Right.   Now if utilization is currently an issue, it may make sense to work to keep them all open, if they have useful CLs.   But in general, if it's very easy not to use a card for months, that card probably isn't needed, and can be closed (by you or them) when utilization or whatever is under control

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I agree, and even though conventional wisdom here is to use every card occasionally to keep it open, it is a practice I have not employed. I have had many cards with over a year of non-use, and they have not closed any yet. They certainly may, but in truth, if I am never using them, it is likely I don't need them. I did close one myself, but have not really seen any evidence that a closed by consumer comment is any better than a closed by issuer comment. As far as credit scoring and approval odds are concerned...closed is closed. For that reason, I will just let the issuer close most of my unused cards. Many here seem to think it is better for them to close the cards themselves, but I have never seen any fact based data to support the theory that it matters. If you need the CL that is on the cards to help with utilization, then by all means use the card occasionally to keep it open. If like me you don't really need the extra CL for that purpose, I see no need to fret over inactive cards. The card I closed was just because I got tired of montoring a card I knew for sure I would never use again.

[PullingMeSoftly]

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@sarge12 wrote:

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I agree, and even though conventional wisdom here is to use every card occasionally to keep it open, it is a practice I have not employed. I have had many cards with over a year of non-use, and they have not closed any yet. They certainly may, but in truth, if I am never using them, it is likely I don't need them. I did close one myself, but have not really seen any evidence that a closed by consumer comment is any better than a closed by issuer comment. As far as credit scoring and approval odds are concerned...closed is closed. For that reason, I will just let the issuer close most of my unused cards. Many here seem to think it is better for them to close the cards themselves, but I have never seen any fact based data to support the theory that it matters. If you need the CL that is on the cards to help with utilization, then by all means use the card occasionally to keep it open. If like me you don't really need the extra CL for that purpose, I see no need to fret over inactive cards. The card I closed was just because I got tired of montoring a card I knew for sure I would never use again.

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Yep, unless they are older accounts and are contributing to AAofA/AoOA

[Aim_High]

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@PullingMeSoftly wrote:

 ... I had a Providian card which turned into a WA Mutual which turned into a Chase something then a Chase Slate, and is now my Freedom card ...

Same goes for my Chase United Explorer ... I didnt touch it for about 8 years, only paying the $65 annual fee

Dodged a huge bullet on both of my Chase accounts, which are far and away my oldest accounts, that could have easily been closed!

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     What an evolution that card had!

    Providian - WAMU - Slate - Freedom

Good point about AF cards.  I imagine as long as you continue to pay an AF even without swipes that is enough contact and "activity" to keep a card open.  Lenders probably love you just as well when they get their AF, even without any other business!   That is kind of an exception, since normally I wouldn't recommend someone leave an AF card open that they don't intend to use, but I do think that may protect a card from cancellation.

Congrats on dodging the bullet with Chase not cancelling your cards!  I don't think they are as skittish as some lenders anyway.  And now, your banking relationship will help also!

[Aim_High]

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@sarge12 wrote:

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I did close one myself, but have not really seen any evidence that a closed by consumer comment is any better than a closed by issuer comment. As far as credit scoring and approval odds are concerned...closed is closed. For that reason, I will just let the issuer close most of my unused cards. Many here seem to think it is better for them to close the cards themselves, but I have never seen any fact based data to support the theory that it matters.

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Who knows for sure and it may vary with the lender or depending on the situation.   I do know that I saw a posting a few months ago from a forum member stating he worked as an underwriter and that in a manual review he much preferred to see the "closed by consumer" comment.  While there can be a lot of circumstances behind a lender closing an account, I think a "closed by lender" comment may lead to a little more scrutiny about the overall report since sometimes that is indicative of credit or debt problems as a whole.  If I have a credit line I don't need, I prefer to close mine "by consumer" just to be safe.   The only advantage for waiting on the lender to close it is that it (might) stay on your credit report a little longer than it would if you closed it preemptively.  It's a small cost.

[wasCB14]

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@sarge12 wrote:

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I agree, and even though conventional wisdom here is to use every card occasionally to keep it open, it is a practice I have not employed. I have had many cards with over a year of non-use, and they have not closed any yet. They certainly may, but in truth, if I am never using them, it is likely I don't need them. I did close one myself, but have not really seen any evidence that a closed by consumer comment is any better than a closed by issuer comment. As far as credit scoring and approval odds are concerned...closed is closed. For that reason, I will just let the issuer close most of my unused cards. Many here seem to think it is better for them to close the cards themselves, but I have never seen any fact based data to support the theory that it matters. If you need the CL that is on the cards to help with utilization, then by all means use the card occasionally to keep it open. If like me you don't really need the extra CL for that purpose, I see no need to fret over inactive cards. The card I closed was just because I got tired of montoring a card I knew for sure I would never use again.

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You have great scores, and you've mentioned spinal damage that limits your desire to travel. So the cards you find useful one month are going to be the same as the cards you find useful another month (rotating categories and caps excepted). Your cards stay active through your natural spend.

For specialized cards only used during travel (like my Arrival with its boring rewards but PIN functionality) it does get more complicated.

[sarge12]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@sarge12 wrote:

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I agree, and even though conventional wisdom here is to use every card occasionally to keep it open, it is a practice I have not employed. I have had many cards with over a year of non-use, and they have not closed any yet. They certainly may, but in truth, if I am never using them, it is likely I don't need them. I did close one myself, but have not really seen any evidence that a closed by consumer comment is any better than a closed by issuer comment. As far as credit scoring and approval odds are concerned...closed is closed. For that reason, I will just let the issuer close most of my unused cards. Many here seem to think it is better for them to close the cards themselves, but I have never seen any fact based data to support the theory that it matters. If you need the CL that is on the cards to help with utilization, then by all means use the card occasionally to keep it open. If like me you don't really need the extra CL for that purpose, I see no need to fret over inactive cards. The card I closed was just because I got tired of montoring a card I knew for sure I would never use again.

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You have great scores, and you've mentioned spinal damage that limits your desire to travel. So the cards you find useful one month are going to be the same as the cards you find useful another month (rotating categories and caps excepted). Your cards stay active through your natural spend.

For specialized cards only used during travel (like my Arrival with its boring rewards but PIN functionality) it does get more complicated.

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Not exactly, the desire to travel is still there, but the ability to enjoy travelling is the issue. Part of the issue with the spinal cord damage is difficulty with my sense of balance being even worse than it already was. Also having Menierres disease already balance was already an issue. Also an issue is the amount of time between needing to use a restroom and using it regardless is just minutes. I must therefore avoid situations where restroom access will be delayed, and avoid unlevel ground that might cause a fall. So in fact, the desire to travel remains, but doing so in actuality caused stress and wishing I were back home just feet from the restroom. Desire is there, but enjoying the actual traveling was just no longer possible. I also loved riding my motorcycle, but the enjoyment of that is also gone. Many are now experiencing staying in place for the first time due to the pandemic. That has been a way of life for me for 7 years. I have been in quarantine a long time. It was not exactly by choice though, and for a while I did travel in spite of my health. What I could not do was enjoy the experience, so why do it?